I was chatting with a few industry colleagues the other day and we had a bit of a “what’s the point of awards” conversation.
I’m pretty sure we all would agree that putting a shiny bit of silver (or gold) in your office reception is a great way to show people that visit your company that you’re really good at what you do. To show that you’re best in your field. To show that your team has achieved some fantastic results. They also make fantastic paperweights.
But we started talking beyond that. What goes into an awards? Not from the organisational point of view, but from the entrants and those spending the cash to take part. Or those trying to break into our industry. Awards are obviously a great revenue generator (depending on the amount consumed via the free bar of course), but beyond revenues, what’s the point?
For the entrants, a lot of time and effort goes into entering them. Some entries are written internally, some hire copywriters or expensive agencies, some enter hundreds with the aim of getting shortlisted for a couple and then winning at least one. Some don’t put much time into it at all and wonder why they never win.
Some have the statistics and stories at hand ready to go each year. Some know they did well, but can’t quite find all the info so spend time scurrying around, asking anyone involved if they could remember exactly what happened this time 327 days ago. Watching the OJ Simpson docudrama on the beeb recently it reminds me, does the glove fit? Can you remember where you were on June 18th 1994? Anyway…
It’s a lot of pressure. A lot of pressure for someone to try to convey into typically 1,000 words why you stand out beyond your competition. Why you’ve achieved such greatness in the last year and why you should win that coveted awards. And for the rest of the company to wonder if you’ve included enough or too much or make it longer or bullet point it or design it better or add more pictures…the list goes on.
And then you see the shortlist. The shortlist which more often than not is actually quite a long list. A long list to fill seats you wonder. You wonder how many people entered for this to become a shortlist. Then you get to your category and see how good the competition is between your industry peers. Then you see a company in your category and say “who’s THAT?”
Here’s just one of the benefits of entering an award. What an amazing opportunity for the lesser well-known companies who don’t have great big marketing budgets to sponsor loads of things to get their names out there. What a great chance to shine and put themselves at the centre stage (or pages) of the industry. Even if they don’t win, I’m pretty sure you googled them that night or asked your colleagues if anyone has heard of them before. What perfect PR.
Then there’s the judging. Do you know how the awards are being awarded? Is there specific criteria for what your award is being judged against? Do you know who is judging? Are entries anonymized so no personal preference can be used in judging? Can you bribe them? Do you need to write it in a certain way based on the category you’re entering or the people that are judging? Can you do some subtle advertising to those individuals to sway them? Just to be clear, I’ve never done that, but I’ve heard of people that have.
So you’ve made the shortlist. You’ve booked your table. You’ve got the outfit, now it’s awards time.
For the newcomers, it’s hard. You walk into a room of 1,000 people you maybe have seen in the magazines or speak at sessions or from general industry chatter, but how do you break in? How do you break the inner sanctum of the industry?
Being in a data business, I’d love to share with you some key insights into how to do exactly that.
But I won’t. Or rather, I can’t. It’s personal. It’s not data driven.
Some people have networking down from day 1. “They either have it or they don’t” I’ve heard before, but I don’t believe that. Some people just need the right time to get into it or the right introduction to help them relax. If you’re nervous about making a twit of yourself… well then don’t get drunk. Have a few drinks to break the ice and get rid of the nerves, but keep it there. No one likes the guy being sick in the corner. Or rather they do, but their pictures might be getting shared on social media for the wrong reasons.
In the US, people are generally more forthcoming and welcoming into groups in networking situations than us cliquey brits (I’m half and half). They seem to be programmed into doing it very well!
So how do you do it? My advice? Get to know someone who knows people. Be friends with them. But not in the sense that whenever they turn around you’re there lurking. Ask them if they can help make an introduction for you. When you get that chance to introduce yourself, leave the elevator pitch at home. No one wants to know about it tonight. Remember, people aren’t here tonight to listen to pitches. They’re here to have fun. Of course you can talk business, but keep it minimal. People are here to chat to colleagues or clients past and present that maybe they didn’t speak to since the last industry shindig. So just join in and have some fun. Oh and they’re also there to win an award.
For those of us experienced at doing this, remember you were new to this once, give people a helping hand.
So back to the title, what’s the point of industry awards?
Is it not clear from the above?
Despite the time and costs involved with entering, time out of the office, getting the right outfit (or the outfit right?), hotels, travel, bar bills…. what a great night to get together with your colleagues who maybe don’t get allowed out that much beyond their day job and with your industry friends who you see occasionally at events like this. What a great night to get some exposure for you brand. What a great night to brag about you winning best something or other award. What a great chance to say you were the best in your field this year.
Most of all. What a great night to get together and celebrate the awesome successes that our industry has achieved over the last year.